Saturday, 27 September 2014

Goats Cheese Stuffed Cherry Bomb Chillies

My greenhouse is full of plants loaded with an amazingly colourful array of chilli fruits right now....... red, yellow, green and purple....... small, large, round, long or pepper-shaped......... blindingly hot to very mild...... Many of them will end up dried and will be added to various dishes over the coming months. But some (like these bright, shiny Cherry Bombs) are perfect for stuffing and eating fresh.

I love cheese-stuffed chillies and often buy them from the deli counters at farm shops and supermarkets. But this year, since I now seem to have them coming out of my ears, I figured it was time to prepare some myself.

They are dead easy to 'make'. You simply de-seed them and soak in a mix of oil and vinegar overnight before softening them briefly in the oven and stuffing with your favourite creamy cheeses, herbs or anything else you fancy. If you don't want to eat them all at once, then you can store them (after deseeding and before softening) for a week or so in the oil and vinegar or keep them in the fridge unstuffed for about the same amount of time after they have been in the oven.

To be honest, whilst I love a bit of chilli, I am not keen on the palate-stripping heat that you get from large amounts being thrown into hot curries. Somehow all subtlety of flavour can easily get lost and eating with friends just becomes a competitive exploit to see who can survive the meal intact.

These Cherry Bomb chillies are naturally fairly mild, especially once they have been deseeded. The goats cheese-mascarpone filling that I have used brings in a wonderful cooling, creamy contrast against the background chilli kick. Throw in some fresh chopped basil for an extra sweet herby shot.... Simple!

They are such a wonderful, vibrant colour too. Eat as tapas......... use to brighten up any salad........ or in my case, keep visiting the fridge, pop one in the mouth and bite through the contrasting slightly crisp chilli-pepper shell into the melty, soft, calming cheese, allowing the flavours and textures to mingle.....

Oh your chillies look so cute. You are doing really well in growing your own and eating them.. wow! I have never grown chillies. My mum does and I take hers!I like the way you have stuffed them with cheese and mascarpone. I can certainly believe you, they must taste wonderful. Perfect for aperitives too. xx

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I'm Kate, author of the Gluten Free Alchemist blog.

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